


A (Time) Traveller's Memoires

by Shenaniganary



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Not Canon Compliant, Tales From The SMP, Time Travel, Time traveller! karl jacobs, Trans Floris | Fundy, a little bit of swearing, no beta we die like wilbur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:00:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28841292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shenaniganary/pseuds/Shenaniganary
Summary: Karl loves stories, he loves hearing them, loves collecting them, loves telling them, he has a library full of them and with the state L'manburg is in, sharing a story is a good way to have fun.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 73





	A (Time) Traveller's Memoires

Karl went back, again.

He found himself going back a lot as of late, the L’manburg of the past was a comfort to him, a place to hide away from the problems that lay in its future. Now, how far back was he? Karl didn’t get any time to ponder that thought, “Ow!” The child that had just run into his legs yelled.

They looked up and Karl recognised him immediately. A petite thing; spindly like his father, with cute baby freckles and little fox ears peeking out of his long, reddish hair. Fundy brushes off his floral dress and pales upon seeing Karl flat on his back. “Oh! I’m sorry!” The little fox offered him a tiny, clawed hand, ears pressed back against his head guiltily, Karl had such a soft spot for kids, “Aw, it’s no problem, and who might you be?” He takes the kid’s hand and even though he’s much too small to help Karl up, he appreciates the sentiment. 

He takes a moment to think before introducing himself, “I’m Flora, but call me Fundy.” He played with the end of his braid, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Fundy, I’m Karl,” He looked over towards the giant blackstone wall, they were pretty far out, “Why are you so far from L’manburg alone, Fundy?” He inquired, “Dad’s busy doing boring president stuff and no one wants to play with me.” The younger explained with a frown, aw. “How about I tell you a story then? My library isn’t too far from here, I could take you.” He offered. Fundy obviously wanted to say yes, but “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers” “I’m not a stranger, Wilbur and I go way back!” At least he hoped he’s met Wilbur before today, Karl still wasn’t sure when he was, and this won’t go down well if he hasn’t, “How about you run over and ask him, and I’ll wait here, yeah?” “Okay!” Fundy enthused, scampering off towards his home. Karl would’ve gone with the kid, but L’manburg isn’t exactly welcoming to outsiders, and he may or may not be an outsider.

A few minutes of waiting accompanied by nothing but the ever-present ticking in Karl’s head later, Fundy was back, a big, toothy grin on his face. Fundy said he had permission to come to Karl’s library. He did know Wilbur at this point in time, good! “Alright, let’s get going then!” Karl yelled, tagged Fundy, and began to run, it got a laugh out of the little fox hybrid behind him.

When they arrived, Karl unlocked the large front door, he always kept the key on him, just like his pocket watch, goggles, and backpack. Without all his trinkets, could he even be called Karl Jacobs? Well, he didn’t want to ditch his stuff, so he would probably never know.

Fundy seemed enraptured with the building: mortals, especially younger ones, tended to be. It’s not like Karl tried that hard to suppress the magic that oozed from this place, wasn’t his fault he didn’t figure it out until it was too late, and his magic was well fused into the foundations of the building. There aren’t exactly instructions on that type of thing, y’know. Karl was proud of his library, it's where he kept all his books, his journals and stories he’s collected, as well as all the little knick-knacks he didn’t keep on his person. This building was full of both the oldest and the youngest stuff in the land, pretty cool, if you were to ask Karl’s opinion. 

He led the young boy into his library and through a large doorway, into one of the rooms, he sat Fundy down at the small table in the center and began to search the book-lined walls for a story Fundy would enjoy. “Any preferences on what type of story you want?” Karl asked as his eyes flickered along the spines of the books, his books. He didn’t bother to properly organize them, at one point, he promised himself he would, but it didn’t last. Every scrap of information he collects, every story he’s told, every journal he finishes gets shoved into any open space he has. “One with fighting!” Karl laughed at the delayed response “Yeah, okay,” He nodded, “You like princesses?” The young fox shook his head vehemently. “Alright.” Karl further scanned his bookshelves and then he spotted it. One of his old journals, that would do just fine.

Excitedly, Karl snatched the leather-bound book from its place on the shelf, it was absolutely bursting; extra bits of paper, pressed flowers, and the like were stuck in on every other page, it was certainly a well-loved book. “I got a good one for ya okay? Listen close.” With Fundy’s nod, Karl opened the book and began his tale.

“Long ago there was a knight, he lived in a big kingdom he created with the help of his friends, and he was happy. One day, however, an enemy kingdom declared war and he had to fight. Amidst the fighting, one of the enemies approached him. This enemy struck a deal with the knight, they offered him the title of king, and all the riches he could ever desire, in exchange for help defeating the knight’s kingdom. Enticed by all the things the enemy had offered, the knight agreed and during the next fight the knight betrayed his friends and helped destroy the kingdom.”

Fundy, who had been silent throughout the story, spoke up, “Oh no!” the little one wailed. “Don’t worry, I’m not finished yet,” Karl explained, quelling the child’s distress.

“After the battle, the king sits alone in his castle, he has a throne and a crown, but he finds he is sad and lonely. So, he starts sneaking his armor and resources to his friends and together they build their home up, better and stronger than ever. In the end, the king loses his title, but he much prefers the warmth of his home and friends to the cold of his lonely castle. And, when the enemy kingdom tries to destroy his kingdom again, they will be ready for it.”

“Yay, happy ending!” “Of course, the best stories always have a happy ending, I told you this is a good one.” Of course, Karl had changed the story a bit, the real one was not as happy or black and white, but Fundy would probably prefer this version over the original. Karl peered through one of the big windows, outside, the sun was beginning to set. Wilbur was probably wondering where his kid was. “Now remember, don’t tell anyone that story, okay? I prefer to tell them myself so don’t spoil it!” he warned the little one, that wasn’t the whole truth either, but Karl would prefer to keep his powers a secret. He didn’t mention that bit though. “You better get home; your dad probably wants you.” “Okay, thank you for the story, Mr. Karl! Fundy beamed and gave Karl a quick side hug before bounding out of his library.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

“These meetings are going to be the fucking end of me, I swear,” Fundy grumbled to himself as he stomped back towards his house. No one in the cabinet has a clue how to run a country, least of all him, this whole thing is idiotic. Fundy was busy wrapped up in his own head, he didn’t even notice when Karl warped directly in front of him, and promptly knocked the poor guy over.

“Oh, sorry Karl,” Fundy spoke, on a normal day, he probably could’ve spared a little more effort to sound like he cared but he was much too tired today. His uncaring tone didn’t seem to upset Karl though, the strange man just bounced right up, brushed himself off, and smiled at him. “Hey, Fundy! It’s been a while!” He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Karl right now. “Uh, I guess it has-" “How about you join me on my trip to the library? I gotta put some books away, and I’d like the company.” Well, he can’t just flat out say no right? That would be excessively rude, even by his standards. Karl, despite how just bafflingly weird he can be, is genuinely nice to Fundy, a rare sight considering his short friend list.

“Yeah, okay, I'll come.” Just a walk to the library, well, to Karl’s library, the building unmistakably belonged to him, Fundy wasn’t sure why he denied it. “Yay! Come on then,” Karl cheered, and the pair began to walk out of L’manburg. 

The walk was surprisingly pleasant, Karl didn’t force conversation onto him or chide on him for walking behind by a few paces as Quackity so often did. Why Karl opts to hang around him willingly is a mystery Fundy doesn’t think he’ll ever understand. Big Q is an asshole, enough said. 

It surprised him how much shorter the walk was than he remembered, as a kid the trek out here felt super long, to be fair when he was younger, he took his time and chatted with Karl, now he was actively trying to keep this visit as short as possible. Before he knew it, he was stood outside of the library, Karl fishing his key out of one of his coat pockets. 

The building was exactly the same as it was a decade ago, not that that meant it was in a good condition. Quite the opposite. In front of him stood a disheveled wooden building, all giant dirty windows, and overgrown vines, the wood itself darkened with age. Despite the state it was in, the library held a sense of wonder that no other building could recreate. A feeling of magic, it was probably just nostalgia, but fundy couldn’t stop the small smile that crept onto his face. This place wasn’t that bad, he supposed.

Karl finished unlocking the door and they both entered. Now that he thought about it, Fundy hadn’t been here that many times, he was young when Karl told him stories and only spent a few hours in there at most. But the inside was the same too, every book, every quill, every cobweb, even the candles seemed as though they hadn’t been put out since Fundy was last here. This building was one of the most vivid childhood memories he had, if someone asked, he could probably build the place from memory even though he’s only visited three or four times.

He followed Karl into the room he always told stories in and sat down next to the table in the center. “What type of story do you want,” Karl asked as he took the pile of books out of his bag and shoved them into the bookshelf behind him. Fundy stared down at the table, “You pick.” He spoke bluntly, he was supposed to be in and out, this was meant to be a quick errand, just to walk Karl here and then leave. “Okay.” 

A few minutes of searching later, Karl sat down next to him, a book in hand. “You ready?” Fundy lifted his gaze from the desk and shifted to face the man beside him, “This better be a good one.” He laughed and Karl grinned, “Of course,” he flicked the cover open, “So, our tale begins in a little village, in the middle of a forest…”

The story wasn’t a very happy one, Karl said it was “the village that went mad” and, in the end, it wasn’t the plague or the murders that killed everyone in the village, it was the people themselves. They all blamed each other, all of them so desperate to keep themselves alive they were willing to do anything. It didn’t have a happy ending, the village just destroyed itself in a bout of mass hysteria, only a few people survived, how bleak. Fundy didn’t mind though. Sure, at first, he didn’t even want to come here, but listening to Karl’s story was the most peaceful evening Fundy has had in a while. 

“Thank you,” That got Karl’s attention, he twisted around from placing the book back in its spot, “For what?” “The story, you were right again, it was a good one.” “Every story I tell is a good one, silly! You better get home now, though, it's getting late." 

Fundy looked through the window. When had it gotten so dark out? Time always seemed to fly by here, Karl’s stories were way too immersive “See you later, Karl,” he mumbled with a nod and made his way out of the library. If Karl had said goodbye, Fundy didn’t hear it. Tonight had been a good one, he decided as he began to trudge through the forest in the vague direction of L’manburg. He would have to come by here again sometime, he enjoyed Karl’s stories.

**Author's Note:**

> Time traveler karl go brrrr


End file.
